Fabulous Fiction Firsts #691 - Small Gems

Fri, 12/14/2018 - 1:14pm by muffy

With winter solstice approaching and our to-do lists becoming overwhelming, there is no reason why your pleasure reading should suffer. The trick for me is to try out small gems - books under 200 pages.

Crudo, at 141 pages, is the first work of fiction by award-winning author Olivia Laing. This “brief, breathless experimental novel” (Kirkus Reviews) has been named a 2018 New York Times Notable book. 

Set in the summer of 2017, the 40-year old narrator is American writer Kathy Acker (a writer who too, is known for basing much of her work on the writing of others) is about to be married while the whole world is falling apart (nuclear testing in North Korea, floods in Houston, the Grenfell Tower fire, white supremacist march in Charlottesville, and antics of an increasingly unstable president). Frolicking with her much-older fiance and a well-heeled crowd in a Tuscan hotel, Kathy must come to terms with the idea of a lifelong commitment.

“A narrative written with immense vitality and, miraculously, the lightest of touches... It's a subversive love story that shouldn't work, but does.” ~ Deborah Levy (Wall Street Journal)

Want some suggestions : Try BuzzFeed’s  46 Brilliant Short Novels you can read in a day; 10 Best Books under 200 pages;  and Short and Spectacular: 21 great novels under 200 pages : From classic to contemporary, discover favorite short books and novellas, guaranteed to stay with you long after the final page - one as short as 60 pages.